A recycled proposal to require water, wastewater, and chemical facilities to end their use of hazardous substances and placeholder legislation on the risks of extreme weather were among the first water-related bills introduced during the opening days of the 113th Congress, though the proposals face varying chances of success.
Introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) on January 23, the “Secure Water Facilities Act (S. 67) mirrors earlier legislation that died without a vote in the 112th Congress. The bill would require water and wastewater facilities to assess their vulnerabilities to a terrorist attack, and could lead to certain facilities deemed “high risk” by the federal government being required to implement so-called “Inherently Safer Technologies” (IST) to potentially reduce the consequences of such an attack.
One “IST” frequently cited by bill supporters is the elimination of gaseous chlorine for water disinfection purposes, but AMWA and other water utility organizations have warned against broad federal mandates that would restrict the ability of local water utility managers to select the water treatment methods that work best for their community.
There are no indications that the prospects for Sen. Lautenberg’s bill this year are any better than it fared last year, and even some of the bill’s supporters have publicly called the proposal a largely symbolic measure. In fact, the issue of “IST” mandates has seemingly reached a stalemate in Congress, though AMWA will continue to monitor the issue closely for new developments.
Also announced in January was placeholder legislation from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to “improve the resilience of the United States to extreme weather events.” The proposal, introduced as S. 7, currently lacks specific policy details but is one of ten bills Sen. Reid offered on the Senate’s opening day to highlight Democrats’ legislative priorities for the year.
As the resiliency bill takes shape in the coming months, AMWA will work with Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) to look for opportunities to incorporate their “Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act” into this larger bill. Rep. Capps and Sen. Cardin are expected to formally reintroduce their legislation, which would help water and wastewater systems prepare their infrastructure for the impacts of changing hydrological conditions, in February.
Other water utility-related legislation introduced in Congress this month includes H.R. 123, a bill sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) to formally authorize EPA’s WaterSense program; and H.R. 202, a proposal from Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) to limit citizen suits against publicly owned wastewater treatment works. Both bills were previously introduced in earlier sessions of Congress, but did not advance.
Looking ahead, February could see further discussions of a proposed “Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act” (WIFIA), which Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) may attach to a larger Water Resources Development Act she is preparing to advance early this year. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) may also reintroduce his stand-alone WIFIA bill in the coming weeks.